London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester four-piece The 1975 were the big winners at the 2019 Brit Awards in London on Wednesday. Here are the main winners: British album of the year — “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships” by The 1975 British male solo artist — George Ezra …
Read More »Breakdancing proposed as new sport by 2024 Olympics: organisers
París, France | AFP | Breakdancing has been invited as a new sport by the organisers of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the head of the local organising committee said Thursday. Skateboarding, climbing and surfing, which have already been added to the programme for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, have been invited …
Read More »Barclays rebounds into profit in 2018
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Barclays rebounded sharply into profit in 2018, as a vast hit from the previous year on the sale of its African business was not repeated, the British bank announced Thursday. The lender’s performance came despite vast litigation costs and a new charge on the impact …
Read More »Air France-KLM more than doubles profits in 2018 despite strikes
Paris, France | AFP | Air France-KLM, which was badly hit last year by strikes and management upheaval, reported on Wednesday that its annual net profits rose by 150 percent to 409 million euros ($463 million). “The strong performance of our front-line teams and continued cost control helped partly offset the …
Read More »App-based delivery men highlight India’s growing gig economy
Mumbai, India | AFP | Suraj Nachre works long hours and regularly misses meals but he treasures his job as a driver for a food delivery startup — working in a booming industry that highlights India’s expanding apps-based gig-economy. The 26-year-old is one of hundreds of thousands of young Indians who, …
Read More »The Sanders effect: 2020 hopeful has pulled Democrats leftward
Washington, United States | AFP | Once declared too radical by Democratic leaders, the policies pushed by Bernie Sanders including universal health care have tilted toward mainstream party acceptance, themes he and several rival progressives will uphold on the US presidential campaign trail. Sanders on Tuesday became the latest figure to …
Read More »Fashion mourns death of ‘Kaiser’ Karl Lagerfeld
Paris, France | AFP | The fashion world has been plunged into mourning by the death of legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, the rapier-witted dandy who ruled over the industry for half a century. Chanel, the iconic French fashion house he led for nearly four decades, on Tuesday confirmed his passing, …
Read More »Britain to strip IS teen of citizenship: lawyer
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain will strip citizenship from a UK teenager who joined the Islamic State group in Syria but now wants to return home with her newborn baby, a lawyer for her family said Tuesday. Shamima Begum’s fate has stirred controversy since she and two friends fled London to join the …
Read More »Bernie Sanders, from gadfly to serious White House contender
New York, United States | AFP | Once dismissed by many as a fringe candidate with wacky socialist ideas, Bernie Sanders campaigned to the brink of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and has now set his sights on the White House once again. Sanders, a 77-year-old US Senator from …
Read More »Germany wants trial for Syria jihadists but warns of difficulties
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany vowed Monday to prosecute German IS fighters but warned that it would be “extremely difficult” to organise the repatriation of European nationals from Syria, after US President Donald Trump called on allies to take back alleged jihadists. Syria’s US-backed Kurdish forces, which are battling Islamic State group jihadists in …
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